The World in 100 Words or Less

So It’s been awhile since I last updated this blog, due to high internet costs in some areas and because, well, the beach was really nice and who wants to spend time on the internet instead of with beautiful women (just kidding grandma)? So, I’ll start from where I left off way back on day 4:

Day 4 turned out to be very different than originally planned.  My new buddy, Aaron, and I were trying to get to chinatown, walking down the streets, checking the map, when we finally asked someone who told us it was a one hour work from where we were. No big deal right? hell, on this trip I’ve been walking everywhere because Bangkok traffic is so bad.  So we started walking, down alleys with “fragrant” smells, down streets lined with huge golden buddha statues and down boulevards where we were peppered with “you want tuk tuk?” (tuk tuks are “taxis” that are motorcycle powered rickshaws for those familiar with that). But then, we came across a sign that said “Golden Mount left”.  I had heard of the Golen Mount, built over 100 years ago by a previous king, so we figured we check it out.  Little did we know it was one of the great highlights of Bangkok.  After roughly 300 stairs, we arrived at the top of a golden temple with 360 degrees of Bangkok view.  Until then, I hadn’t realized just how bigthe city was.  It spanned so far that we couldn’t see the end.  Miles and miles of skyscrapers, shantytowns, rivers, highways and action.  But on top of the mount, all was quiet.  It was heaven.  SO we stood there for an hour, as the monks cleaned the very pinnacle of the mount by hand, standing on bamboo scaffolding and just observed something so large that from the street we had not appreciated it.

At night, our travels were less interesting.  We had scheduled a bus to go to Khao Sok that would take roughly 14 hours.  So we hopped on the bus back at Khao San (pushed on like cattle by the bus operator) and quickly watched as the big city melted into hazy rural countryside.  As the sun set, all that was luminated were the always burning flourescent lights of street vendors and shops dotting the highway.  I laid back, closed my eyes, and fell off into a deep slumber. An hour later I awoke to our choreographed stop of overpriced sandwiches, which i skipped and fell back asleep. When I awoke again, it was day 5.

 

Day 5: It’s 6 am and we’re at Surat Thani, a small little town that serves as a ground transportation hub for the south of thailand.  Groggy, sweaty and smelly, Aaron and I disembarked and eventually booked our ticket to Khao Sok, the National Forest Preserve.  As we arrived at Khao Sok, the sun had finally risen and it was a new day.  At the entrance to Khao Sok town, we hopped on to one of the free taxis (sitting in the back of a truckbed) that took us to one of the few available accomodations in town.  The place we were taken to turned out to be really nice and was run by the park warden’s family.  It was a cozy little hotel of roughly 6 bungalows, though ours was more like a tree hut as it was 30 feet in the air.  The room was about the size of a walk-in closet but had great mosquito nets to protect against the local bloodsuckers so we were happy.  We decided to take a little hike before the park closed at 4 pm, so we grabbed some water and headed into the park.  We were dissapointed to find that the trail was more like a huge road, most likely carved out by a bulldozer or big truck.  Not the picturesque forest we had imagined, yet still beautiful, we hiked to the first waterfall on the map.  It was nice, but more like a set of rapids that falling water. That was all we had time for that day so we huffed it out (about 10 km/ 6 mi. round trip) and grabbed some dinner.  Later we found out from a couple from Germany that there was a water swimming hole at one of the other lodges in town that also was home to a large group of monkeys.  We arrived at the Monkey Swimming Hole to find a gorgeous pool of water with a steep, cliff backdrop covered in trees and Monkeys!! it was a truly beautiful sight. So we hung out, watching the monkeys play.  Some people bought bananas and fed them to the monkeys who were more than happy to eat up the local delicacy. I ended up finding that the monkeys were very approachable.  I walked up to one in a tree holding a stick for hm to grab and sure enough he took it right out of my hand and started nibbling on the end.  Then he threw it down, probably dissapointed that the human hadn’t given him food. Encouraged by this, I must of done it another 10 times until the monkey got mad at me and started swinging, haha.  We called it a day early, saving our energy for a long hike the following day.

Day 6: its 8 am, we’ve awoken (right word?) an hour later than planned.  We get a quick breakfast of pad thai (yes, pad thai) and head out onto the trail.  To give Khao Sok its credit, its a collection of beautiful green mountains and limestone cliffs that jet up into the sky in ways that you dont see in the states.  Some of these mountains are so thin that you feel you could walk up to them and tip them over.  We head out on the same trail deciding to go to what is ocnsidered the greatest waterfall in the park.  Little do we know that the distances marked on the map are grossly underestimated.  But, on a high note, after the first waterfall we had reached the previous day the trail actually turns into a challenging path that cuts a thin curvy line through the rainforest. Completely shaded from the sun, we follow the path of the river, climbing over trees and down valleys, always shaded by the tall growing foliage.  The path is grueling, and after an hour, my shirt is soaked with sweat, a first for me.  Even out of the sun, the heat and humidity are like nothing i’ve ever felt.  I’ve seen backpacking trails wider than this.  I couldn’t even imagine carrying a 50 pound pack for more than a couple of miles.  Guided by the rudimentary map given to us at the visitors’ center, we finally reach the turn off for the waterfall, Tan Sawan.  Unfortunately, the map doesn’t show that this means crossing the river at one of its deepest points than hiking up a mile of river bed (later, we realized someone had sorta mentioned this to us casually).  After a half-hour of debating as a light drizzle falls from above, we decide to cancel our visit to that waterfall and head to one on the main path that looks like an easier trek.  Mind you that the 6 projected km of travel given by the map is more like 10 or 12.  We didn’t go that far not to swim in a nice cold pool of water so 5 km later we finally get to… i forget the name actually. 

The waterfall turns out to be a trickle but the pool in front of it is magnificent.  Set between to adjacent cliffs, and not more than 30 feet apart, the wading pool is a beautiful sight and a welcomed rest.  I quickly strip down to my shorts and dive right in (not such a safe idea in retrospect).  However, the water is plenty deep, nearly 15 feet at some points.  We meet up with a couple of Brit Ex-pats from Egypt and their goofy, young guide who turns out to work at our lodge.  We had decided not to take a guide as it was expensive and we had both had backpacking experience.  This turned out to work perfectly.  After an hour of enjoying the sounds of the rainforest and cooling off in the fresh water, we swim out of the pool after a little crocodile scare (that amned guide and his jokes.  The little prick threwpieces of pineapple into the water, fish jumped up and grabbed them and he told us it was a crocodile. I coulda killed him, but it was a little funny).  Despite the forest’ beauty, we actually saw very few animals apart from geckos and what not, despite hearing gibbon and monkey calls.  The guide told us that every 10 years or so someone spots one of the park’s tigers and that its quite a sight indeed.  The tigers are actually very shy and seeing one is really good luck.  Another rare occurence, one that we did not have the luck to witness, is the sighting of a white elephant, once prized by the monarchies of southeast asia for there rare beauty and stunning color.  Heading out with the brits, their guide (whose always playing pranks) and Aaron, we head all the way back out along a trail thats not even on the map but the kid (guide) seems to know pretty well.  All and all, we hiked about 12 miles or so, counting as the number one hardest trip i’ve done since Isle Royale for those who are familiar with my past adventures.

ONce we catch a quick dinner and conversations with some of the locals about thai politics, we hail a local bus that takes us down from the mountainsjust as the sun is setting.  Its a welcome break with beautiful views of what I consider to be the real Thailand. ONe bus later and we’re in Phuket, the famous beach spot of thailand, but its 12 am and all we want to do is hit the sack, exhausted from the day’s journey

day 7: Aaron and I definitely slept in.  Trying to wake up at 7 am, we get up at 9:30.  The goal for the day is to get to one of the islands, Koh Lanta.  After walking around Puket City, a grungy, unimpressive town, we hitch a ride to one of the piers where we get ripped off on the last boat to the islands. Its an hour and a half journey to Koh Phi Phi (Ko Pee Pee), a beautiful island with a little beach town that connects the two mountains of the island.  ONyl about 40 metres thick, the town is lined with beautiful beaches and people.  This is the expensive island of the area.

 Aaron and I have 3 hours until the boat to Koh Lanta so we bop around townlooking at the overpriced goods and catching a bite to eat.  However, for the first time we finally see the real effects of the tsunami.  On the wall of a locals’ house we see before and after pictures of this once more sleep resort town.  What used to be covered in palm trees and nearly 50% larger in area, was completely decimated by the tsunami.  A local tells us that many people, both tourists and locals, died in the powerful waves that swept right through the town.  Ironic enough, the only standing structures after that were the more expensive places to stay, the bungalows having washed into the see, sometimes sadly with their occupants.  We block that sad image out of our head, have a drink and hop on the boat to koh Lanta. This time the boat is not air conditioned or even big enough to sit outside, so everyone is cramped in a stifling box, with the windows closed (due to the waves) and the pungent smell of the 15 litre engine only a thin wall away.  As we arrive we quickly jump out to breathe in fresh sea air with only the slight odor of rotting fish, but much better than petrol.

At the pier, we catch a taxi to one of the resorts wherre they have “beach bunglows” and “sandy beaches”.  This turns out to be less than accurate the beach is rocky for more than half the day during low tide and the bungalow is a good 80 meters from the water.  Even worse, the owner has these two guys (one from Seattle and one New Zealander) trying to sell us on how great the place is.  We got so turned off by these two shitheds (sorry for the language grandma) who were probably getting cheap accomodations to get people to stay, that we decide to just walk up the beach and find some plce more adequate.  As the sun is setting on a perfect crystal blue sea, we find a great place called the Sanctuary about 4 km closer to town.  Its a sleepy little resort full of hippie ex-pats and there little kids and proves to be a peaceful place to relax for a couple of days.

 

Day 8: Beach, nothing but the beach. nothing more to say.

MOre to come, but thats quite a lot of writing for one day. Hello to everyone back home!!! And if you want to support my trip, i’d be more than glad to pick up one of the great knock-off garments or bags available in Bangkok for ya for a very, very reasonable price.  Email me for more details.

 

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Monday, February 13th, 2006 at 6:18 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.